It is important to maintain a patient's body temperature at a precise level during various neonatal, adult, and pediatric medical procedures. Such procedures include surgery, x-rays, invasive and non-invasive testing, patient transport, trauma for use in ambulance, childbirth in ambulance, and thermal regulation. Such importance is particularly true during surgical operations. During surgery, the body temperature naturally tends to drop as heat is readily lost from exposed body parts. Heat loss places a surgery patient in a vulnerable condition wherein the patient may succumb to hypothermia and even death. This heat loss problem and the resulting detrimental effects are even more pronounced in infants. Other specialized surgeries might require the application of cold.
Accordingly, operating room techniques attempt to assure that a patient's temperature is maintained during a medical procedure. Such attempts include raising the overall temperature of the room, and/or bringing warming lights into close proximity with the patient. Unfortunately, such attempts fail to properly warm the patient and create an uncomfortable environment for the medical personnel. Surgeons have even been known to wrap the top of their heads in aluminum foil to try and reflect away some of the heat from the warming lamps. In general, such conditions are not productive due to the discomfort rendered to the medical personnel. Moreover, such conditions might cause a surgeon to be distracted during a medical procedure, possibly placing the patient at an additional risk. Extreme cooling of the operating room would present similar problems.
A variety of devices have been disclosed for controlling or enhancing a person's body temperature. U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,648,325; 4,856,294; and 5,484,448 disclose vest-like garments which can be worn to heat or cool body temperature. Such devices utilize heating and/or cooling packs, but are not readily applicable to medical or surgical procedures.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,738,367 discloses a garment which conforms to different body shapes. The fabric contains a series of embedded tubes for conveying heating or cooling fluids as circulated by a hyperthermia machine. Zippers allow access to some parts of the body while the garment is being worn. U.S. Pat. No. 5,269,369 similarly discloses a temperature regulation system which uses fabric embedded tubes to distribute energy to various portions of the body. The regulation system may be used for a garment, a blanket, and/or a pad and runs in various patterns as needed for the particular application.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,383,918 discloses a compartmentalized heat conserving/cooling body suit. The suit encloses the entire body and requires circulated air for temperature regulation. A blanket is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,405,370 which similarly uses heated or cooled air for temperature regulation.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,184,613 discloses a thermal pack with opposing identical sections which wrap around the limb of an individual, particularly the heel of an infant, and is secured in position with VELCRO strips. The thermal pack consists of a flexible fluid pouch with hour glass shaped sections which provide a quilt-like appearance. As noted in this patent, the use of thermal packs to generate heat is well known according to various prior art techniques. The typical thermal pack employs a sealed rectangular package containing selected chemical ingredients which, when finally intermixed together, provide a refrigerated or a heated pack.
Numerous examples of such thermal packs exist, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,057,047; 4,856,651; and 4,580,547. As such, these patents disclose heating pads where one packet of chemicals is suspended within another and the weaker inner packet is broken to provide mixing of the fluids, thereby causing a chemical reaction. Additionally, these patents disclose reactions which occur as a result of a trigger being activated inside the pack. Such triggers include a thin, bendable, metallic strip which can be flexed to initiate exothermic crystallization of a salt which is in solution.
While the above mentioned patents and disclosures show assorted attempts to address the heating and/or cooling of body parts, the varied problems encountered during a surgical procedure are not addressed. What is needed in the field is a specially shaped pad which is capable of generating and/or dispensing heat or cold in an even manner. This could be accomplished through a chemical reaction pack, or through circulated fluids. The pad should be placed under the patient and heat or cold will be radiated upwards or downwards to maintain the patient's body temperature during surgery, transport, or otherwise. Accordingly, a human shaped pad would ideally be suited for such applications as it would minimize the space required and would localize heat or cold application.
Additionally, insulated material should be provided which can be modularly attached to the pad in sections and which can wrap around various body parts and be releasably secured over the patient as needed. Such insulated material must prevent localized heat or cold loss and trap thermal energy radiating away. Hence, during certain operations some body parts should remain covered while others remain exposed, with no extra, unnecessary material interfering with the procedure. These wrapping portions could be equipped to actively dispense heat or cold, as well. In fact, depending upon the nature of the procedure to be conducted, active heating/cooling portions may be combined with insulating portions in a variety of configurations.